There were fewer births in Clare between January and March this year than in the same period of any year since records began.
New data released by the Central Statistics Office shows the number of babies born in the county in the first quarter of the year was down 30% from the same stretch 10 years ago.
A total of 298 births were recorded in Clare from the beginning of January to the end of March this year.
Of these, 56% were within marriage while 44% were outside of it.
The data also shows that for just over 29% of births recorded here, the parents were unmarried and shared an address.
In the first three months of the year, a whole 37% of births in Clare were to mothers aged between 30 and 34 while 30% were to those between 35 and 39.
Mothers aged 25 to 29 meanwhile accounted for 18% of babies born in the county, with women in the 20 to 24 and 40+ age brackets each accounting for 7% of births registered.
The figure of 298 is the lowest for the months of January, February and March in Clare since records began in 2008, as well as the fourth-lowest for any three-month stretch across the same period.
